Ordinary Work, Chapter 2

Draw strength from your divine filiation. God is a Father - your Father! - full of warmth and infinite love. Call him Father frequently and tell him, when you are alone, that you love him, that you love him very much, and that you feel proud and strong because you are his son.
-The Forge, 331

Chapter two of Ordinary Work is devoted to an explication of the theological term "divine filiation" which is the assertion that we are the children of God.

Dr. Hahn does an admirable job of expressing the radicalness of this teaching and how it should fill the Christian heart with excitement and joy. We have endeavored many times on the podcast to express the wonder and joy of our divine filiation!

This stunning teaching that God has adopted us as his own children. That by Christ's participation in our human nature that we are gifted with participation in his divine nature! That through Christ we become like God! It is revolutionary and unique assertion. One that we have become far, far too blase about. In a certain sense, Christianity has been a victim of its own success. Our culture was founded on Christian teachings, and remnants of those teachings continue to linger amidst our devastated culture. As such, it is all to easy for us to take for granted that we may refer to God as our "Father." But while we may take it for granted, others do not. Referring to God as "Father" is enough to get you killed in many parts of the world. We may be jaded and complacent, but many people still understand the radical nature of such a statement.

Christians also uniquely understand that God is Father not only in his actions, but in his very nature. Jews may say that God "acts like a Father" because of the love and care he shows for us. But only a Christian can say that God "is a Father" because he is eternally Fathering the Son in the Blessed Trinity. Dr. Hahn sums this up succinctly by stating that God's fatherhood "is not metaphorical; it is metaphysical."

St. Josemaria taught that this divine filiation is the spiritual foundation of Opus Dei. If people are looking for the "secret of Opus Dei" they have no further to look than this.

Divine filiation is certainly an excellent foundation for a "way." It will be interesting to see how Dr. Hahn builds upon this foundation in his exploration of holiness in the ordinary.